Joe Paterno: Coach on Sidelines in Time To Inspire Penn State for Big Ten Play

Joe Paterno returned from the press box to the field for the first half of Penn State’s 34-6 beatdown of Eastern Michigan on Saturday.

Paterno had spent all of his time during the Nittany Lions' first three games up in the press box after suffering an injury in practice back on August 7.

It may have had a negative effect on the squad, as they struggled mightily against No. 3 Alabama and lost their second game of the season, 27-11. They also had to dig deep to beat out Temple and escaped with a 14-10 victory in the week after.

Now that Paterno is back on the field, he seems to be inspiring his kids into playing great football. He only needed to remain on the sidelines for a half to get his team up 17-0 and felt comfortable enough with the lead to head back to the press box as a precaution.

The team is going to need Paterno back more than ever after they closed out the "preseason" to their Big Ten schedule. They lost leading tackler Michael Mauti for the year to a torn ACL and CB D’Anton Lynn has a scary neck and upper back injury that saw him strapped on a board and taken to a hospital.

The thinned out Penn State roster must face Indiana, Iowa, Perdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin in consecutive weeks on a schedule that gets progressively more difficult, in my opinion.

Having Joe Pa back to inspire and lead the team will be a boon and something they need as they have looked flat in games he hasn’t been on the sidelines for.

The team looked good but still struggled with their two-quarterback platoon against a weak defense.

“I’m not going to go home and jump for joy,” Paterno said. “We’ve got a ways to go. Hopefully, we’ll get better.”

They must get better as tough Big Ten play starts this Saturday and doesn’t end for the rest of the season.